Song of the Day: Sharon Van Etten – A Crime

Every Monday through Friday, we deliver a different song as part of our Song of the Day podcast subscription. This podcast features exclusive KEXP in-studio performances, unreleased songs, and recordings from independent artists that our DJs think you should hear. Each and every Friday we offer songs by local artists. Today’s selection, featured on the Midday Show with Cheryl Waters, is “A Crime” by Sharon Van Etten from her 2010 album epic on Ba Da Bing.

You wouldn’t think Brooklyn needed another great female singer-songwriter; but that was before you listened to Sharon Van Etten. Her sophomore LP, Epic, is already gaining some early praise and proving to be a beautiful new rebirth of sorts for the artist. Consisting of just seven short songs (the LP totals at a mere 30 minutes), Epic as a title may have been intended a silly play on words, but dig a little deeper into Van Etten’s previous work, and you’ll quickly realize this new LP is a monumental step forward. Her remarkable voice is a wonderful change to most everything else out there, and her slowed down love songs are like listening to someone tell you a story. In her music, Van Etten has never been afraid to wear her heart on her sleeve, and in that way this album is no different. The storybook tale of how Van Etten got her start in the music industry is also an inspirational story of determination involving her current record label, a chance encounter with TV on the Radio’s Kyp Malone and members of The National.

For someone relatively unheard of in the past, Van Etten definitely has serious plans of making up for lost time. In fact, Van Etten is already working on a new album to be released next year, she is currently touring in support of Jose Gonzalez ‘s band Junip, and she will be touring Europe supporting The National in February. You can find out more about Sharon on her website and stay tuned to the KEXP Blog for videos from her recent live session in the KEXP studio. For now, here’s a recent session that she did for NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert series: